Today near the end of the show, she had an elderly gentleman as her guest. He talked about a small organization he started called Bedside Advocates. As I listened to him talk, I couldn’t help but think that I wish I had them for my parents before they died. I was excited however that this man is looking to expand this service into something large enough to go national.

The purpose of this all volunteer organization, is to have someone like a retired doctor, nurse, or lay person who has full knowledge and experience with different illnesses, pair with a sick person as an advocate. The advantage over having them involved is that they know what questions to ask, what alternate care might be available, and can act as go between the doctors and the families.

The cost for such a service with this small group is free and composed of volunteers. I think this has great potenial and is badly needed. Although most doctors I’ve met up with are very caring, the truth is that when they have patients who are elderly, the attitude is that they are old and will die soon anyway, so I don’t think they are as concerned with saving lives as they would be with younger people.